Archive for the ‘Wild’ Category

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher announced tonight the National Hockey League (NHL) club has agreed to terms with defensemanJonathon Blum on a one-year contract and forward Jordan Schroeder on a two-year contract.

Blum, 25 (1/30/89), recorded one assist in 15 games with Minnesota last season and tallied 29 points (7-22=29) in 54 contests with the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL). He was named Iowa’s Man of the Year for his outstanding contributions to the Des Moines community during the 2013-14 season. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound native of Long Beach, Calif., has notched 23 points (7-16=23) and 20 PIM in 106 career NHL matches with the Nashville Predators and Minnesota. Blum has tallied 142 points (30-112=142) and 127 PIM in 290 career AHL contests. He was selected by Nashville in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Schroeder, 23 (9/29/90), collected six points (3-3=6) in 25 games with the Vancouver Canucks last season and one assist in two games with the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League (AHL). The 5-foot-9, 180-pound native of Prior Lake, Minn., has recorded 15 points (6-9=15) in 56 NHL contests with the Canucks the last two seasons. He owns 115 points (47-68=115) in 192 AHL games. Schroeder tallied 73 points (22-51=73) in 72 games during two seasons at the University of Minnesota (2008-10). He won a gold medal with the United States at the 2010 World Junior Championship. Schroeder was named the WCHA Rookie of the Year following the 2008-09 season after leading the NCAA in rookie scoring. He was selected by Vancouver in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has agreed to terms with left wing Thomas Vanek on a three-year contract.

“Thomas is an elite offensive talent who showed a strong desire to play in Minnesota,” said Fletcher. “We are excited to welcome him to our organization.”

Since entering the NHL in 2005-06, Vanek, 30 (1/19/84), ranks eighth amongst all NHL players in goals scored (277) and third in power-play goals (113). The 6-foot-2, 217-pound native of Vienna, Austria, has totaled 556 points (277-279=556) and a plus-41 rating in 663 regular-season games during nine NHL seasons, including 68 points (27-41=68) in 78 games with Buffalo, the New York Islanders and Montreal in 2013-14. He’s added 30 points (20-10=30) in 53 NHL playoff games.

Vanek totaled 113 points (57-56=113) in 83 games during two seasons with the University of Minnesota (2002-04), helping the Golden Gophers claim the 2003 NCAA title while being named NCAA Championship Tournament MVP. He was selected fifth overall by Buffalo in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, becoming the highest Austrian-born player ever drafted in the NHL, before garnering NHL Second All-Star Team honors in 2006-07 and being named an NHL All-Star in 2009. He spent the majority of his career with Buffalo (2005-14), ranking fourth in Sabres history in power-play goals scored (106) and game-winning goals (41), fifth in goals (254), 10th in points (497) and 15th in games played (598). He was acquired by the New York Islanders on Oct 27, 2013 before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens on March 5, 2014.

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The Minnesota Wild’s 2014-15 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season schedule was released today. The Wild opens its season at Xcel Energy Center against the Colorado Avalanche at 7:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 9.

The 2014-15 schedule consists of 82 games - 41 at Xcel Energy Center and 41 road contests. The Wild’s home schedule features 19 weekend games (four on Friday, 12 on Saturday and three on Sunday). Most evening games at Xcel Energy Center will begin at 7 p.m.
Minnesota will play 29 games against the Central Division, including five each against Colorado (three home, two road), Chicago (two home, three road), Dallas (two home, three road), Nashville (two home, three road) and Winnipeg (three home, two road), and four vs. St. Louis (two home, two road).
The Wild will also play three games against each team in the Pacific Division, including home contests against the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 26 and March 28: Anaheim (two home, one road), Arizona (two home, one road), Calgary (one home, two road), Edmonton (one home, two road), Los Angeles (two home, one road), San Jose (two home, one road) and Vancouver (one home, two road).

Minnesota will play each team in the Eastern Conference twice (once at home and once on the road) for a total of 32 contests. Popular Eastern Conference visits to Xcel Energy Center include Pittsburgh (Tuesday, Nov. 4), Montreal (Wednesday, Dec. 3), Toronto (Friday, Jan. 2) and the defending Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers (Thursday, April 2).
The Wild will have a season-long five-game homestand from March 27 - April 6 when it hosts Calgary, Los Angeles, the New York Rangers, Detroit and Winnipeg. The club’s longest road trip is four games from Jan. 20 - Feb. 1 at Detroit, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. The road trip is split by the NHL All-Star Game that will take place on Jan. 25 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

After NHL All-Star Game - Minnesota will have 36 games remaining on its schedule, including 18 home games and 18 road contests. The Wild will play 14 games after the NHL All-Star Game against the Central Division and 25 total against the Western Conference.

Longest Homestand: 5 games:

March 27 - April 6: Calgary, Los Angeles, New York Rangers, Detroit, Winnipeg

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with Head Coach Mike Yeo.

“I am very excited to continue to coach the Minnesota Wild and pursue a Stanley Cup for the State of Hockey,” said Yeo. “Our fan support has been amazing and it went to a new level during the playoffs this season. We are all motivated to reward them.”

Yeo helped lead the Wild to the Stanley Cup Playoffs the last two seasons after a five-year absence. Minnesota went 43-27-12 this season and advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the second time in franchise history (2002-03). The club’s 98 points ranked 11th in the NHL this season and tied for second most in franchise history. The Wild has posted a record of 104-82-26 (.552) during his three seasons as Head Coach, ranks 10th in the NHL in wins since the start of the 2012-13 season and is one of 11 teams to advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs the last two seasons. Yeo was named the team’s third Head Coach on June 17, 2011.

“Mike has done a very good job the last three seasons as our Head Coach and we look forward to his leadership going forward,” said Fletcher.

Yeo helped lead the Houston Aeros to a 46-28-1-5 record and the Calder Cup Final in his first season as a Head Coach in 2010-11. The Aeros led the Western Conference and ranked third in the AHL with 46 regular season wins after it did not qualify for the playoffs in 2010. Prior to being named the Aeros Head Coach, Yeo served as an Assistant Coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2005-10). During his tenure in Pittsburgh, the Penguins claimed the 2007-08 Atlantic Division title, advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals twice and won the 2009 Stanley Cup Championship. He joined the Penguins coaching staff when Michel Therrien was named Head Coach on Dec. 15, 2005. During his first full season in 2006-07, Yeo helped the Penguins to a 47-point improvement from the previous season, the fourth-largest turnaround from one season to the next in NHL history. In his second season, he helped lead the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since the 1992 season. Yeo remained on staff in Pittsburgh during the 2008-09 season after Dan Bylsma replaced Therrien on Feb. 15, 2009, and the Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup.

He began his coaching career as an Assistant Coach with the Penguins’ top minor-league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2000-05). Yeo helped the Penguins earn a Western Conference title (2001), an Eastern Conference title (2005) and two appearances in the Calder Cup Final (2001, 2004). In 2005, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton set an AHL record for the best start to a season by boasting a 21-1-2-1 record with 15 straight road wins before Yeo was promoted to Pittsburgh.

The left wing played five seasons with the Aeros (1994-99) and accumulated 127 points (55-72=127) and 511 penalty minutes (PIM) in 317 games. The native of North Bay, Ont., served as captain of Houston’s 1999 Turner Cup Championship team. He played 19 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 1999-2000 before suffering a career-ending knee injury.

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NEW YORK (MAY 10, 2014) - Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Bollig has been suspended for two games for boarding Minnesota defenseman Keith Ballard during Game 4 of the teams’ Second Round Stanley Cup Playoffs series in Minnesota on Friday, May 9, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 17:13 of the second period. Bollig was assessed a minor penalty for boarding.

For a full explanation of the decision, complete with video, please click on this following link: